A Cold Palace
by CaelumBlue
Summary: 86 years pre-series. At age 14, Prince Azulon finds himself completely alone in the Fire Nation's royal court after the latest round of political scheming takes away every family member he thought he could trust.


**I realize I'm kind of behind on cross-posting to here on FFdotnet, so I'm working on fixing that. I'm not super far behind but I figure I should get a few fics up here.**

**So...like most of the fics I've gotten published recently, I wasn't expecting to write this, but I'm pleasantly surprised I did?**

**Thank you to Stingrae for being such a great beta!**

**WARNINGS**  
**Murder/Assassination**  
**Past murder of a child**  
**Suicide (kinda? not really?) by hanging**

**If you're new here - I don't headcanon Azulon as an only child, I enjoy watching the emperor's kids and their moms duke it out for the throne in Chinese costume dramas, and you may want to read my fic "blow us all away" to get some sense of what's going on and the political fallout the Fire Nation's been dealing with since launching the war.**

**Oh, and just in case it's confusing - Azulon is the youngest of Sozin's many, many children, so he's also younger than most of his nieces and nephews. Sucks to be him.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Aside from her killer, Prince Azulon was the last person to see Princess Tomomi alive.

He wasn't supposed to be. He wasn't supposed to be _anywhere near _this section of the Fire Palace - _no one _was. No one except the guards, by Fire Lord Sozin's decree. But Azulon was a Fire Prince growing up in dangerous times, and he'd long ago mastered the art of sneaking, hiding, and not drawing attention to himself. He was capable of standing in the middle of a crowded banquet hall and being noticed by exactly no one, to the point that just last month one of his half-siblings had been surprised to hear he'd attended her soiree when he'd complimented her choice of menu the next day. So ducking around in the dark and staying out of sight on the rooftops should have been a cinch.

But not tonight. Tonight it was harder than usual - the guards were on edge after what had transpired in the court that day. It was annoying - they were even remembering to look _up, _wary of attacks from the air, and Azulon really wished there were more dragon statues on the roof that he could hide behind. Granted, that would make things dangerous if there were _real _spies and assassins sneaking about, so he was willing to just deal with it. He had an excuse ready to go should he get caught, anyway - he was definitely just evaluating the palace rooftops to see if he could find any weaknesses or blind spots that might be exploited by more of those...Airbender assassins. That was _exactly _what he was doing.

Right up until he swung through the window of Princess Tomomi's bedroom, anyway. He immediately dropped to the floor to avoid the flaming fist that flew at him.

"Not getting me _that _easily you fucking - oh my Agni _Azulon?" _

Azulon sprung back to up his feet and gave his niece a bow. "Prince Azulon respectfully greets his niece and mentor, Princess Tomomi - "

She grabbed his shoulders and yanked him away from the window. _"Azulon what the hell are you doing here?" _she hissed.

"I came to see you," he said.

She shook him. "You can't see me! No one's allowed to see me! I'm not even allowed _servants! _How did you get in here?!"

"Snuck past the guards," he shrugged.

"You can't be here," she said, her eyes wide as she pushed a hand through her hair. Her topknot was a wreck full of flyaways, Azulon noted, and she was still wearing the clothes she'd worn when the hippo-bullshit had gone down in court, hours and hours ago. Minus her armor, of course. She must have been stripped of it upon being put under house arrest. "You can't _be here, _Azulon, you need to leave _now." _

"But - "

"Don't be stupid!" she hissed, shaking him again. "I raised you better than to be stupid!" She looked towards the window, like she wanted to push him out of it but knew such a move would be just as stupid as she was accusing him of being.

"At least let me wait a bit," Azulon whispered. "Just in case the guards are paying attention after that shout. Wouldn't want them to see me sneaking out of your room."

"And what if they find you _in the room with me?" _Tomomi said. "Those damn twins would spin it to say I was caught red-handed trying to murder a prince!"

"I'd tell Father I was here of my own volition."

"Not if you were dead, you wouldn't! They'd kill you first and pin it on me!" Tomomi's eyes were wide with - not panic, never panic. She was too level-headed for panic. But she was definitely stressed, and tired, and she didn't have any servants to help her comb her hair or dress for bed or to even just talk to. She was alone with nothing but her thoughts of what had happened that day, what she'd been accused of, how Fire Lord Sozin had reacted…

It was cruel, was what it was. Tomomi had suffered enough in the last fourteen years, ever since the deaths of her father and aunts and uncle, but today had been especially awful. It was cruel, the charges Prince Kishor and Princess Kesari had brought up against her, and it was cruel how Princess Mahina had just _let them, _and - Agni forgive Azulon for thinking ill of his own father - it was cruel, how Fire Lord Sozin had just gone ahead and _believed _all of it.

"I know you didn't kill Crown Prince Daisuke," Azulon told her. "Or Prince Nobu. Or...or little Princess Ululani."

She stared at him for a moment, and then she hung her head. "Well," she said quietly. "At least _someone _believes in me."

He thought over what else she'd said. "You said - they might kill _me. _Are the guards - are the guards Father's, or do they work for - "

"The palace guards are under the direct command of the Fire Lord," Tomomi said flatly. "To suggest any of them may have been corrupted or bribed into following someone else's orders would be a serious accusation, indeed."

"So...if one of them finds me in here, they'd probably kill me so it can get blamed on you."

"I wouldn't put it past them."

Azulon thought some more. "Is that...what you think happened?" he asked tentatively. "To Crown Prince Daisuke and Ulu? And Prince Nobu last year? Do - do you think Prince Kishor and Princess Kesari - "

"Young man, _what _have I told you about politics?"

"To pay close attention and never get involved." He looked at her, beseechingly. "I'm just trying to pay attention right now."

She said nothing.

"Do...do you think they were killed by Prince Kishor and Princess - "

"Well it certainly wasn't Airbender assassins from Ill Wind!" Tomomi snapped. "I wiped that little terrorist group out _years _ago! And I would _never - hire _them to kill - to kill my own - " Her angry expression faltered into something sadder and betrayed.

It really was cruel, the net they'd caught her in. Using her own accomplishments against her and her own family.

"Grandfather is going to _kill me." _

"No he's not!" Azulon said. "Father would never!"

"You were in court today, you _saw _what happened!" Tomomi snarled. "I'm _dead, _Azulon! And you are too if anyone catches you here!" Her fingers clutched into his shoulders again, and the glare she fixed him with slowly crumbled as her knees folded. Azulon watched her sink to the floor, let her pull him down with her. "I'm dead," she said again, quietly. Miserably. "My grandfather thinks I'm a traitor, my allies have forsworn me, and I have no family left to protect me."

Azulon tried to not let that last remark sting. He was fourteen years old, the youngest of Fire Lord Sozin's many, many children, and born to a mother from a small island and a smaller clan - he really _didn't _have any political clout.

But she was still wrong. "Father's not going to kill you," he said again. "You're all he has left of Fire Lady Huali."

She stared at him for a long moment, and then she finally removed her hands from his shoulders to bury her face in them instead. "You're probably right," she admitted. "He may not go through with it. Maybe he'll just leave me locked up here forever. A caged regret that he can't bring himself to destroy. He can be sentimental, when it comes to Grandmother." She sighed. "But then, he thinks the only thing he has left of her is a selfish princess who murdered her own cousins. Who's to say he won't decide it's better to burn that memory out of existence?"

"He _won't," _Azulon insisted, but truth be told he was starting to worry. He'd never seen Tomomi like this. He'd always known her to be completely sure of herself, a commanding presence. Maybe she'd been different once - before the war, before her father had been killed during Sozin's Comet, before she'd devoted herself to hunting down any Airbender survivors to avenge his death, before she and her cousins had suddenly been the next heirs apparent for a throne they hadn't planned on taking any time soon.

Before she'd decided to mentor a motherless newborn prince.

For as long as Azulon had known her, Princess Tomomi had been in charge. She'd been the political brains behind Crown Prince Daisuke's path to the throne. She'd held her many half-aunts and -uncles and -cousins at bay after the deaths of her father and his siblings. She'd led platoons to wipe out the remaining Airbenders. She'd executed Afiko, the notorious Air Nomad traitor. She was never in a situation that she couldn't take control of.

Until now.

"They're dead," she said. "My entire family is _dead, _and those _damn twins _have my grandfather and the rest of the court thinking I killed my own cousins!"

_"I _know you didn't!" Azulon said. "And - and Princess Mahina, she - she'll want to know the truth, won't she? She'll want to know who killed her husband and her daughter."

"She thinks _I _killed Daisuke and Ulu," Tomomi said, lifting her face. "And she and I have never liked each other much."

"Well - Prince Eizo, he's always been loyal to your branch of the family. He'll - "

"Do nothing," Tomomi said dryly. "Eizo is from a small clan and has a good head on his shoulders - he won't cause trouble. He followed Daisuke and me because he followed our parents. Now that Daisuke is dead and I've fallen out of favor…"

Azulon's lips twisted in frustration. "Father will come to his senses and see that it's all wrong!"

"Prince Kishor and Princess Kesari made a very convincing argument today, Azulon."

"And if Father takes ten minutes to _think _about it he'll know it's ridiculous to think you've been working with Ill Wind. You've been hunting down and killing Airbenders, not working with them."

"Hm, yes, the perfect cover story for my illicit alliance with Airbender assassins," Tomomi drawled, and she shook her head. "Fourteen years hunting down Airbenders and dedicating myself to our nation, and _this _is the thanks I get."

"Father is wise," Azulon insisted. "He'll see it doesn't make sense."

Tomomi was silent.

"He'll think about it," Azulon continued, "and he'll remember that...that Prince Kishor and Princess Kesari weren't fond of Fire Lady Huali, and he'll remember your loyalty, and - and he'll see - "

"Grandfather refuses to see the divisions in the family, Azulon," Tomomi said tiredly. "He assumes that everyone will get along because that is his will. Everyone _should _get along because that is his will...but that's not the reality we live in. Just because he wills it, that doesn't mean it happens. And yet, he doesn't wish to accuse any of his children of scheming against each other." She hung her head. "Not until it's brought up in court, before all the ministers and nobility, with convincing evidence, and he doesn't have a choice."

"But you didn't scheme!"

She smiled bitterly. "I know. Maybe I should have. Ironic, isn't it?"

Azulon wanted to punch something. "Since when do _you _give up?" he huffed.

She sighed and put her face back into her hands. "Azulon, this is the…second, no wait. Father, Nobu, Ulu, Daisuke..._ fifth _worst day of my _life. _I think I'm allowed a minor emotional breakdown." Her words were punctuated by a sob that she quickly stifled.

He hated seeing her like this. He looked away, around the room instead. There was a tray of food on Tomomi's desk - plain white rice, and he was certain that cup held nothing more than water. No fare that befitted a princess. The meal remained untouched, and he wasn't sure if she was lacking in appetite or if she was worried about poison. It didn't look like Tomomi planned on sleeping tonight, either - her bed was untouched, the coverlets still perfectly made up, the long white silk bed curtains hanging listlessly.

These were the same quarters Tomomi had called her own for as long as Azulon had known her, and yet...the space felt different. Empty. Eerily silent. Maybe it was the fact that Tomomi hadn't bothered lighting any candles, and the space was only illuminated by moonlight. Maybe it was the lack of servants to serve their lady should she need them, all of them dragged away to be questioned on their mistress's doings. Maybe it was the slight creak of armor and the scrape of spears from the soldiers in the courtyard outside, who stood guard not to protect Tomomi, but to confine her.

This wasn't a home anymore. This was a cold palace.

Azulon shifted uneasily at the realization and wondered if coming here had been the right idea.

"Why are you here, Azulon?"

He startled and looked back at his niece. Tomomi was gazing at him with tired, red-rimmed eyes.

Azulon thought about how he wanted to answer that question. He'd wanted to see Tomomi, yes, but specifically he'd wanted to - to _show her _what he'd discovered. She had to know, she _always _wanted to know about his progress, his studies, his training, always wanted to make sure he was growing into a worthy Fire Prince, and this - this was _important, _what he'd found out. Maybe it would even cheer her up - maybe it would _help. _

Except wasn't that ridiculous of him, assuming _he _might be able to save this whole situation somehow. How full of himself!

But he'd made it this far, and...he still had to tell her.

He straightened under her gaze. "I wanted to show you something."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Is this _something _worth you disobeying the Fire Lord's orders and putting yourself into danger for?"

He really wasn't sure. "It's...important?"

"Hm."

"...You have to look, if you want to see it."

She lifted her head. "Okay. Fine. What was so important that you had to sneak past the guards and break my house arrest to show me?"

"Look." He held his hand out, palm up, and focused. Breathe in, breathe out, in, out. Find the spot inside himself he'd only just discovered recently, that space in his spirit full of potential he was usually too cautious to tap into. Inhale, exhale, _ignite. _

The fire in his palm blazed _blue. _

Azulon smiled when he saw he'd managed it. With his other hand he gently reached for the odd-colored flames, twining them around his fingers. He'd discovered this gift completely by accident during his meditation exercises a few days ago; had fallen off his cushion when he'd seen what color his candle flames had turned. It'd taken him a few tries to recreate it, but after all the work he'd crammed in the last few days he'd figured out the trick to controlling the color. He'd been practicing for this moment - very carefully, when he was alone in his room, with no spying servants or anyone else about to see. He'd known he would have to show Tomomi as soon as possible.

He just...hadn't imagined he'd be showing it to her like this.

Tomomi stared blankly, her face lit by the azure light. Azulon watched her expression carefully, waited for her to - react. Say something. _Anything. _She always wanted to see his progress, to know how his training was coming along, to be sure that he was living up to his potential, that he was a worthy half-brother of the father and aunts and uncle she'd lost. And blue fire, while not unheard of, was definitely the stuff of legends, the sort of thing that only showed up in plays and stories and hardly ever in real life. The blue base of a flame burned the hottest, but blue fire was more than just a special technique - it was a hallmark of its bender's power, of the quality of their chi, of the blessing they were bestowed by the spirits. This was...this was _big, _wasn't it?

Tomomi kept staring.

Azulon shifted uneasily, but kept the blue flame burning in his palm. He watched its reflection dance in her eyes.

Finally, she reached out, took his hand in hers, and curled his fingers inward until the flame flickered out and died.

"...Princess Tomomi?"

She stared down at his hand, still held in hers. "I don't have time for this," she whispered.

Azulon blinked.

Tomomi closed her eyes and sighed. "Alright," she said. "This is...this is amazing." Her voice was quiet. "This is amazing, and I can't deal with it right now."

"I'm - sorry," Azulon said. "I just...I wanted you to know."

"I understand," she said. She gave his hands a squeeze before letting go. She clasped her own hands, held her fingers before her nose, and took a deep breath. After the exhale, she opened her eyes. "Alright," she said. "This is - this is definitely a development. I'm not sure what to do with it yet. And I have...a lot of other things to worry about right now." Her gaze hardened. "I'm beaten, but not defeated. I can figure this out. I'm not done yet, and I'm going to make those damn twins regret everything they've done."

Azulon nodded. It stung a little, that his newfound gift had to be ignored for now, but he was glad to see her acting a bit more like her regular self.

"It'll be a while before Grandfather decides what to do with me, and I still have a few tricks up my sleeve," Tomomi continued, talking to herself. "Some friends in the ministries, a few nobles I may be able to persuade to defend me… Uncle Takeo had friends in the Yu Yan Clan, and the Daimyo of Kohimori fucking _owes _me, and if I have enough people urging Grandfather to do a more thorough investigation Prince Eizo might grow a spine and not be completely useless for once... I just have to figure out how to contact them."

"I can take messages?" Azulon offered.

_"No," _Tomomi said sharply. "You can't get involved. I'm not going to implicate you, do you understand?"

She'd never named him her heir. Tomomi had always been very firm on that - she was Azulon's mentor only, taking an interest in his wellbeing out of pity for his late mother Concubine Faiza, and out of gratitude for the woman's kindness towards Fire Lady Huali. Azulon was Tomomi's uncle, the son of Fire Lord Sozin, and it would have been impudent for her to claim him as her own. And now it was fortunate she never had - people might speculate, but the fact remained that Tomomi officially had no heir. There was less chance of him getting caught up in her mess when she'd made it clear she didn't consider him to be hers. But to be told to abandon the only person who'd ever really cared about him...

"But isn't there some way I can help?"

"Stay out of the way," she said flatly. "Stay low, don't draw attention to yourself, and let me handle the situation. And _do not _let _anyone else _know about - _this." _She gestured at his hand. _"Does _anyone else know?"

"No," he shook his head, "I figured it out on my own. You're the first person I've shown."

She smiled, but it was wan. "Your skills are progressing beautifully, Azulon," she said. "Be careful with them. Don't paint a target on your back."

"I won't."

"Good." She stood up. "You need to leave. And don't come back. Not until my name's been cleared. The last thing I need right now is to worry about you. Once I've found some way to deal with Kishor and Kesari and get free of this mess...then we'll talk."

"Alright," Azulon said, moving towards the window. He paused to look back at her, her face lit in the moonlight, and he smiled. "And when this has all blown over...we should probably talk to Father about palace security, too."

She laughed. Just a little, but it took a few of the worry lines off her face, and it was a nice sound, one that warmed his heart - it meant she was _pleased _with him. "Cheeky brat," she said, and then she gestured at the window. "Go on, now."

"Goodnight, Niece."

"Goodnight, Little Uncle."

Azulon was out the window and up on the roof in one fluid movement, ducking behind the nearest dragon statue to get a look at the guards' positions. Once he had an idea how they were laid out he moved onward, away from Tomomi's prison. He jumped from roof to roof to wall, followed the wall for a few hundred feet until he found an unguarded walkway used primarily by palace servants that was cast in suitably concealing shadows, and dropped back down to the ground. Azulon brushed himself off, glanced up and down the walkway to confirm no one had seen him, and ambled onwards, heading towards his own quarters.

He'd scarcely turned a corner into a better-lit, well-guarded walkway when he ran into someone.

"Prince Azulon," Prince Eizo said, one eyebrow raised.

"Ah, good evening Older Brother," Azulon said with a quick bow. "Are you out for a stroll as well?"

"Do I want to know what you're doing out this late at night?" Prince Eizo asked.

"Just...clearing my head," Azulon said. He let his gaze drop from Prince Eizo to look at the ground. From the corner of his eye he saw his half-brother's expression soften.

"That's understandable," Prince Eizo said gently. "I imagine this was a rough day for you."

"Yeah," Azulon muttered.

"You must know Father believes you blameless," Prince Eizo added, comforting. "You're far too young to have gotten caught up in Princess Tomomi's schemes. Perhaps she would have _used _you in them, but you couldn't have been aware."

Azulon looked back up at him. "Prince Eizo...do you really believe she did those awful things?"

"I believe the evidence presented to the Fire Lord today by Prince Kishor and Princess Kesari spoke for itself."

"But Princess Tomomi loved her cousins, and she spent years telling Crown Prince Daisuke and Princess Mahina that they had to produce an heir...do you really think she would kill them?"

Prince Eizo's eyes flickered around the walkway, empty save for the guards spaced out every twenty feet. "I know this must be hard for you, Little Brother. But it's over. Tomomi is finished. You'd best distance yourself from her, lest you get tangled in her web of treachery."

"But - "

"Father finds you blameless, Prince Azulon," Prince Eizo said. "Is that not enough for you? He might change his mind if you keep asking questions."

"Just one more question, then," Azulon said. "For you. You followed the descendants of Fire Lady Huali faithfully. Who do you follow now?"

Prince Eizo looked down his nose at Azulon, his eyes glittering in the dark. "I follow first and foremost the will of Fire Lord Sozin," he said. "Beyond that, I follow whoever is best for myself and my mother's clan. You'd do well to follow suit."

Just as Tomomi had said. Prince Eizo wasn't going to stir up trouble on her behalf.

"Thank you for the advice, Older Brother," Azulon said, bowing again. "I'll be sure to consider your example."

Prince Eizo nodded back. "Go back to your quarters, Prince Azulon," he said, striding past him. "Get some sleep."

Azulon watched him go for a moment before turning and heading in the opposite direction, toward the main building of the palace and the small set of quarters he called his own. He only paused once - at the path that led to the miniature palace that had been Crown Prince Daisuke's home. Azulon didn't spend too long hovering at the gate - the guards posted there were eyeing him warily, and he didn't want to cause a scene, but…

There was a light in the parlor window. He knew that parlor, had spent hours on the floor there with little Ululani. When he was younger he'd played games with her and her dolls and carved animal toys, and as he grew up he'd started entertaining her with his fire. Tomomi would stay in the other room, discussing politics with her cousins. Crown Prince Daisuke would usually be stressed, and Tomomi would tell him he needed to grow a spine, and Prince Nobu would try to say something wise and Fire Sage-like before Tomomi snapped back that he needed to start pulling his political weight. Princess Mahina would usually have food served - her poi was particularly good - and some days she'd sit with her husband and frown at whatever Tomomi was saying, while others she'd sit on the floor with Ululani, watching Azulon with wary eyes while they played. Azulon didn't really care much for children, but his half-great-niece had been entertaining - Ululani had liked learning, particularly history and math, and being a nonbender she'd always been delighted when Azulon had bent his fire into shapes for her. She'd also had a mischievous streak a mile wide and an unfortunate obsession with fart jokes.

Poor Ululani had been dead for a week now, and Crown Prince Daisuke just a few days less than that. The only person in the house now would be Princess Mahina.

He wanted to talk to her - wanted to ask if she _really _thought Tomomi had killed her husband and daughter, because if anyone would be able to insist on further investigations it would be her.

But it was late, and Azulon was tired, and if Princess Mahina was still awake, she probably wasn't having a pleasant night either, and Azulon had no idea what he might say to a grieving widowed mother that would convince her to give a chance to the cousin-in-law she'd never really liked.

Azulon kept walking.

When he arrived at his quarters, he dismissed the servants and spent twenty minutes checking every nook and cranny for traps. There were no assassins in his closet or under his bed, and after some deliberation he shoved his wardrobe a few feet to the left to cover the space in the wall where he _knew _there was a secret passageway that was so old it didn't open easily. His washroom was clear as well, and not for the first time he was grateful that he had a simple chamberpot - he'd been mildly terrified of pit latrines ever since he'd learned of Fire Lord Haruto's assassination from his history tutor. Ululani had giggled hysterically over _that _lesson, and had joked about it often enough that Azulon had started going out of his way to avoid the palace's pit latrines entirely. Chamberpots, at least, weren't big enough to hide ninjas.

He poked his head out the window, made sure the eaves were clear, and pulled the shutters closed before locking them. He checked his mattress, made sure his sheets hadn't been sprinkled with poison or were hiding spikes or razors, and then he went back to his closet, gathered up a bunch of pillows, and artfully arranged them in the bed before covering them with the blankets. Then he drew the bed curtains closed for good measure.

When he was reasonably certain that he wasn't going to get killed in the immediate future, Azulon grabbed another pillow and blanket from the closet, crawled under his bed, and settled in there to sleep. Any assassins coming to do him in while they thought he was asleep in bed would be in for a nasty surprise when he burned their ankles.

He didn't sleep well. He hit his head on the bed slats twice, and every hour he found himself awake again, emerging back to consciousness from strange and stressful dreams that slipped from his memory whenever he awoke. But he'd rather have his sleep interrupted by bad dreams instead of death.

Granted, he was fairly certain most of his dreams had to do with death. He only remembered fleeting images - Prince Nobu, stuck under a heavy wooden beam after the temple construction accident last year. Crown Prince Daisuke smiling at Princess Mahina while he drank poisoned tea.

Some time after midnight, he dreamt of Tomomi, gasping for breath much like her father Prince Nori had in his final moments. Azulon laid awake for a long while after that one before finally drifting off again.

The last dream he remembered in full - Ululani, crying at the bottom of the pond she'd drowned in last week. He tried to reach down and pull her back up, but the air was thick and he wasn't able to move. She looked up at him, her long dark hair framing her big saffron eyes, and she reached up - but her arms were so short, she was only eight, and for some reason she couldn't swim - why couldn't she swim back out? She was a fantastic swimmer - and she was all alone at the bottom of the pond. Except she wasn't alone anymore, was she? Her urn had been joined by her father's, and they rested side by side in the Dragonbone Catacombs alongside the rest of their lost family. Eight urns altogether - Ululani and her father Crown Prince Daisuke and her uncle Prince Nobu, her grandmother the former Crown Princess Kamiko, and her great-uncles and -aunt, Prince Takeo, Prince Nori, and Princess Saki…

That was seven.

There were only supposed to be seven people here.

Who did the eighth urn belong to?

When Azulon opened his eyes, sunlight was shining through the window shutters. He carefully extricated himself from under the bed, and thought that he should maybe try to visit Princess Mahina today. He wondered how early was too early for a social visit.

But when his servants came in to help him dress, they were...oddly quiet. And when he sat down to breakfast the maid's hand shook a little when she put the tray down. Azulon made her have a bite of everything on his plate before he felt safe enough to eat it himself.

Maybe they were just frightened by the fact that they were in the service of a prince who might be falling into disfavor in the near future. Maybe they were worried he might get killed and they'd be blamed for it. Maybe they were on edge because of how Tomomi's servants had all been dragged away for questioning and possible execution.

Azulon didn't let himself ask any questions until he'd finished his food. He didn't want to face whatever this day threw at him on an empty stomach.

"What's going on?" he finally demanded.

"Forgive our nervousness, my prince," one of them said, "but...there's an awful lot of activity going on around Princess Tomomi's quarters right now…"

"What?" Azulon asked sharply. "Why?"

"No one knows, sir. No one's said anything."

Azulon was out the door before they could prove themselves more useless. Striding down the palace halls, it didn't take long to notice that something felt - off. It was hard to put his finger on. It was something about the way the servants moved through the halls, how the guards stood at attention in the doorways. The sun was still rising over Caldera City, and the morning light painted the clouds a lurid shade of crimson.

"Red sky in morning," Azulon murmured to himself, and he hustled outside.

His feet carried him past Princess Mahina's home, taking him down familiar walkways he'd strolled through every day since he'd learned how to walk. Last night he'd been dodging the sight of the guards, sticking to the shadows, but now in broad daylight he didn't bother staying inconspicuous. He saw a few of his half-siblings going the same direction he was, and servants going the opposite, and enough of them gave him startled or pitying looks that he knew something was _wrong. _

He was running by the time he reached the gate to Tomomi's palace, and he stumbled a bit as he entered - only to be caught in a pair of strong arms.

"Easy, Little Brother," Prince Eizo said, steadying Azulon on his feet.

Azulon shrugged his half-brother's hands off of him. He looked around Tomomi's courtyard, and - that was _a lot _of his siblings just standing around, whispering to each other. "What's going on?" he demanded. He glanced at the house - there was the window he'd swung through just last night to enter Tomomi's bedroom, he could make out a few people moving around inside. He glanced around the courtyard again and did a double take - Princess Mahina was _there, _standing with a gaggle of servants just off to the side, watching the house with a stoney gaze. "What's going on?" he demanded again, for the third time in an hour.

Prince Eizo's face was pained. "Prince Azulon," he began, and then he didn't say anything else.

Azulon scowled at him and started to stomp up the steps to Tomomi's home.

"Azulon!" Prince Eizo snapped, grabbing his arm and holding him back. _"Father _is there!"

Azulon froze. If Father was here - but no one looked pleased - and Tomomi had been so sure Father wouldn't see reason, had been so sure he'd have her executed - and everyone was giving Azulon those _looks _-

"Let me go!" he hissed at Prince Eizo, pulling his arm away, but his half-brother held firm. "Let me go! I have to - "

_"No," _Prince Eizo said lowly. "No, Azulon, I'm sorry, it's too late, she's already - "

Azulon yanked himself away from his half-brother, but the force of his movement took him a few feet to the side, and suddenly he had a much better view of what was going on inside Tomomi's bedroom.

Fire Lord Sozin was inside, and so were Prince Kishor and Princess Kesari, and they were all staring at something that was - that was -

There was something hanging from the ceiling, hanging from a long piece of white silk.

Tomomi's bed was missing its curtain.

Azulon thought he might be sick.

"Azulon," Prince Eizo said, gently.

Azulon didn't hear him. What he _did _hear was Princess Kesari's voice inside Tomomi's bedroom. "Perhaps this is for the best, Father. She saw the error of her ways, the pain that her greed brought upon you, and rather than live with her shame she took it upon herself to end it."

"She removed herself from this world, so that she would not be an ignoble blight upon this family," Prince Kishor chimed in. "There was some honor left in her, after all."

Azulon's legs gave out from under him, and his knees hit the ground as he stared up at Tomomi's bedroom window. He felt a pair of hands on his shoulders again, but he didn't have the presence of mind to brush them aside.

"Azulon," Prince Eizo said again, kneeling in front of him. "She's gone. I'm sorry."

"But…" Azulon tore his eyes away from the scene through the window, casting his gaze about the courtyard. More people trickled through the gate by the minute, like shark-eels drawn by the scent of blood. His half-siblings and -nieces and -nephews were whispering amongst themselves, some eyeing Tomomi's house unfeelingly, others looking at him with calculating gazes. Azulon's eyes slid over them until he found Princess Mahina. She held his gaze for a cold moment, and then she looked away.

Azulon felt his stomach lurch again. He didn't want this to happen - hadn't wanted _any _of this to happen. He wanted to go back to Crown Prince Daisuke's house, wanted to go up the steps and open the door and find Tomomi shouting at Crown Prince Daisuke to be a better politician and yelling at Prince Nobu to give up on being a Fire Sage. He wanted to have a bowl of Princess Mahina's poi. He wanted to sit down on the floor with Ululani and entertain her with fire twisted into whatever animals she wanted him to make with it.

He wanted his family back.

He wanted to know why they were all _gone. _

Azulon looked back at Prince Eizo. "But - but why - ?"

"Azulon," Prince Eizo said gently. Admonishingly. Like it was stupid that Azulon even had to ask.

_But she wasn't giving up! _Azulon wanted to shout it to the heavens, with Agni as his witness that Princess Tomomi had _not _been suicidal the night before. Despondant, yes. Terrified, of course. But after running through her emotions, she'd also been thinking, and planning, and trying to find some way out of this mess. She hadn't been ashamed, either - she had nothing to atone for, no honor to regain because she'd never lost it in the first place.

She hadn't been planning on killing herself. Azulon _knew _she hadn't been. It couldn't have been _her _who'd done it.

And just as soon as he realized that, he knew he couldn't say it out loud. Couldn't protest Tomomi's obvious suicide. Not here. Not in front of his half-siblings. Not even to Prince Eizo, ostensibly Tomomi's ally but in all actuality completely useless.

Whoever was responsible for this...Azulon couldn't let them know he knew.

It wasn't hard to guess who might be behind it. Azulon's eyes went back to the window, to Prince Kishor and Princess Kesari who were directing some servants in removing Tomomi's body - but it wasn't their gaze he caught.

It was his father's.

Fire Lord Sozin stared out the window at his youngest son. Azulon stared back, hoping to see - something. Remorse, or perplexity - some sign that his father could see that this was _wrong, _that this entire situation was _wrong. _Sozin was the wisest, bravest, greatest Fire Lord to have ever lived - surely he would know something was amiss.

But the expression on the Fire Lord's face was inscrutable as ever. Perhaps there was something slightly grieved about him, something sorrowful. Mostly he just looked tired. Tired, and surprised to see Azulon staring back at him.

Azulon averted his eyes. He finally shrugged Prince Eizo's hands from his shoulders, forced himself up to his feet. Inside her bedroom, Tomomi's body was coming down from the ceiling, and out here in the courtyard everyone was watching him, except Princess Mahina, she wasn't even _looking _at him, and he could still feel his father's eyes on him, and when he dared to glance back up he saw that Princess Kesari was looking at him curiously now too, and Tomomi's neck was free of the silk now, her head flopped unnaturally to the side as she was lowered out of sight, and -

And Azulon couldn't be here anymore.

"Azulon?" Prince Eizo asked gently.

Azulon bolted.

Tomomi would have yelled at him, would have told him he should have walked steadily, assuredly, shouldn't have given his siblings any reason to suspect him of weakness.

Like Azulon had ever had anything resembling power. Any political sway he'd ever had had come from his association with Tomomi, Crown Prince Daisuke, and Prince Nobu. Without them, he was weak, and everyone knew it.

There could be a kind of protection in weakness, though, he thought as he slammed the door to his bedchamber behind him. Let them see him as weak. Let them see him as helpless and emotional and frightened.

Maybe they wouldn't consider him a threat that way.

He was easy pickings now. He was such an easy mark, maybe no one would bother to take the shot. They all had bigger fish to fry, didn't they? Maybe they'd leave him alone.

Maybe he'd live to see his sixteenth birthday.

He shoved his wardrobe aside, back to where it belonged, and he ran his hands over the wall until he found the spot that would open the secret passageway. The door liked to stick, but Azulon had figured out the trick to it ages ago, and he carefully applied pressure to wall and sent a thin stream of flame into the tiny hole that led to the door's mechanism. The wall slid open, and Azulon slipped inside and yanked it shut behind him as quick as he dared without breaking the old thing.

It was dark in the passageway, and Azulon lit a fireball in his hand, let it glow for a moment as he made sure he was alone. There were stairs just a few feet away from him that led down into the caves under the palace, and he threw the fireball downward, watched it illuminate the space before it fizzled out.

No one was hiding in the shadows. He was alone.

Azulon leaned against the wall and closed his eyes against the darkness. After a moment he slid down to the floor and hid his face in his knees.

Was this what Tomomi had been feeling last night? Helpless, and cornered, and alone? Had she seen her killer? Had she died frightened? She clearly hadn't been able to fight much, if they were able to pass it off as a suicide…

Azulon focused on his breathing. Breathe in, breathe out. In, out. Inhale, exhale.

After a few minutes, he held his hand out in front of him, and a blue flame sprung to life in his palm. Azulon stared at it morosely. What was even the _point? _"What am I meant to do with this?" he muttered, but the fire had no answer for him. Azulon sighed and held it close to his chest, breathing carefully as he nurtured the flame.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! If you liked it please leave a review! And you can follow me at caelum-in-the-avatarverse on tumblr if you want to chatter at me or see me reblog random ATLA stuff and post the occasional fic ramble.**

**And so I begin the tangled web of politics and oneshots that will chronicle Azulon's fight for the throne! Not that I'm planning on doing anymore anytime soon...but I couldn't pass up on the series name "Throneward Bound" when I thought of it. Stingrae says she now pictures Azulon as a golden retriever, and I say that's alright so long as Ilah gets to be Sassy.**

**Aren't politics fun? I have to say, I feel kinda bad for Azulon. I'm basically deep-frying the poor kid in political intrigue and serving him up to the wolves here. It's very sad and I wasn't expecting to feel actual emotions for him but there you go. He's all alone now. If only he could somehow get some political support so he doesn't end up dead by sixteen, he could probably use the help of some sharpshooters, a master Firebender, a terrifying strategist, and one stubborn teenage girl...**

**Also friendly reminder that in Zuko Alone, Ozai literally says about Azula: "She's a true prodigy. Just like her grandfather, for whom she's named." So it's canon that Azulon was a prodigy, and I've taken that to mean that he is also capable of producing blue fire.**

**Also also I've decided 16 is the age of majority in the Fire Nation, so Azulon's really just hoping he gets to live to become an adult.**

**A "cold palace" is a trope in Chinese historical fiction denoting the home of a wife (concubine, consort, or empress) who's fallen out of the emperor's favor. Please note that this is a trope - there was never a place labeled as "the cold palace" in the Forbidden City or elsewhere, and while it's true that wives who fell out of favor would be ignored, the term "cold palace" was never used historically. It's basically a modern-day label for a phenomenon that used to happen. *shrug* What IS historical is white silk used to commit suicide by hanging - a quick search shows me that Qing Dynasty prince Zaiyuan was given a piece of white silk to hang himself with in 1861, and I'm sure there were more instances of that happening throughout history, so that's another trope with historical background.**

**Name notes!**

**Tomomi - 智美 ****\- Japanese - "beautiful intellect"**  
**Daisuke - 大輔 ****\- Japanese - "great helper"**  
**Nobu - 延 ****\- Japanese - "to prolong, extend, delay"**  
**Mahina - Hawaiian - "moon, moonlight"**  
**Ululani - Hawaiian - "heavenly inspiration, royal grove, name of a chieftess"**  
**Eizo - 映像 ****\- Japanese - "image"**  
**Kishor - Hindi - "colt"**  
**Kesari - Hindi - "saffron; lion"**


End file.
